Antonius Maria Bodewig

Antonius Maria Bodewig (born November 2, 1839 in Bonn , † January 8, 1915 in Rome ) was for a time a Jesuit , missionary and founder of the order .

Life

He was born to Constantin and Elisabeth Bodewig. On August 21, 1856, he joined the Society of Jesus in the Province of Münster , studied philosophy and theology and was ordained a deacon on October 11, 1868 . Then he was a teacher at the Jesuit college Stella Matutina in Feldkirch in Vorarlberg . He was ordained a priest on May 3, 1871 .

In 1872 he was transferred to India and worked at St. Mary's Institute in Bombay , where, in addition to English, he also learned Marathi and Sanskrit and studied Hindu philosophy and mythology. On January 23, 1874, he was assigned the mission in Igatpuri . There he tried like Roberto de Nobili († 1656) to live as a Christian sannyasin . He met with no understanding from the local community and asked for a transfer. From 1874 he was sent by the superior Bishop Meurin first to Nasik , Igatpuri, Bombay, Deolali and finally back to Bombay. In 1875 there was a final break with Bishop Meurin. In 1876 Bodewig returned to Germany.

In the following years he was transferred several times and worked in Feldkirch , Copenhagen , Lancashire , Wakefield , Buffalo , Exaten in Holland , New York and Philadelphia . He wanted to continue working for the evangelization of India. Since this was not possible within the Jesuit order, he left the Society of Jesus in 1888 and was accepted by Cardinal Philipp Krementz as secular priest of the Archdiocese of Cologne .

While the German-speaking countries concentrated mainly on the Africa mission, Bodewig tries to arouse interest in the India mission through lectures, brochures and books. He had a mission in mind in which priests, lay brothers and sisters would adapt as much as possible to Indian culture and way of life ( inculturation ). He wanted to train the female members to be nurses and teachers in order to give them access to the women and to promote the education of the girls. Sisters and brothers were to do the pioneering work of the mission, which was later supplemented by priests by preaching and administering the sacraments. Since he emphasized lay work and the lay apostolate so strongly, Bodewig met with some violent rejection of his plans.

In order to be able to realize his ideas, he was exempted from pastoral service on September 1, 1892 and in the same year founded the Mission Society of the Immaculate Conception for the conversion of the Gentiles of India in Cologne . Further branches for the sisters were opened in Bonn and Munich .

In 1894 Bodewig sought approval of his society at the papal Congregatio de Propaganda Fide in Rome and received a letter of recommendation on June 30th, which made the establishment dependent on the consent of the local bishop. Bodewig had this letter copied and distributed. Cardinal Kerentz felt ignored, ordered visitations of the new society in May and July 1895 and informed Bodewig on September 23 that he would not approve the new congregation. Since Bodewig did not dissolve his company, he was suspended from the priesthood after a renewed visitation in November.

The members of the community then moved to Hoogstraten near Antwerp . Eight brothers and 14 sisters were sent to India in December 1895, where no bishop wanted to accept members of a prohibited community. Most of the brothers and sisters therefore joined other religious orders.

Bodewig tried again to get a permit for his company directly in Rome, but Pope Leo XIII. At an audience on May 23, 1896, his last hopes were dashed. Several attempts by Bodewig to lift his suspension failed in the following years. It was not until September 4, 1909 that the Archdiocese of Cologne approved his excardination , but it was not until December 20, 1913 that Cardinal Désiré-Joseph Mercier accepted him as a priest in the Archdiocese of Mechelen .

Bodewig tried again to obtain church approval from his company. Pope Benedict XV granted him an audience for January 9, 1915, but Bodewig died the day before.

Aftermath

Despite all adversities and without church approval, the community was able to expand in Italy and Austria while its founder was still alive . In 1923, with the support of the then university professor Theodor Innitzer and Cardinal Friedrich Gustav Piffl, members were able to found the Missionary Congregation of the Sisters “Queen of the Apostles” in Vienna .

Works

• India and its Gentile Mission . circa 1890

literature

• Callista Panachickel: The fruit of the wheat grain. Failure and rebirth of the vision of the missionary pioneer Antonius Maria Bodewig . Missionary Sisters "Queen of the Apostles", Vienna 2004